October 28, 2004

The Presidents of the United States of America: Love Everybody

By | October 28, 2004

1991: Nirvana enters music mainstream with Nevermind and a naked baby picture. Countless knock-offs are spawned, but the Presidents of the United States of America’s eponymous album stood out for its quirky, anti-grunge sensibility.

Few Months Later: grunge dies, PUSA fades with it.

Last Summer: Presidents, unlike Nirvana, get back together and release Love Everybody. And how is it?

If you like the Presidents’ other releases you’ll enjoy this: they’ve lost some of their edginess but none of their edge and upbeat jamming. If you don’t like their earlier stuff, be warned that their overly-indulgently poppy “Some Postman” has been crawling the radio charts. Offerings like “5,500 Miles” and “Poke and Destroy” hark back to the smooth melody/high strung mania one-two punch that brought the Presidents their original fame in “Kitty” and “Peaches.” Other songs like “Vestina” will have listeners hitting rewind repeatedly, if only to decipher what the trippy, upbeat trio is singing about.

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ByOctober 29, 2004

When the women’s soccer team takes the pitch at Berman Field tonight at 7 p.m., it will have the chance to end two streaks: No. 8 Princeton’s nine-game winning streak and its own eight-game losing streak. The Red (4-9-2, 1-4-0 Ivy) will try to spoil the Tigers’ momentum, as Princeton’s only loss this season came over a month ago. “[Tonight’s game] gives us a chance to test ourselves against the best in the league and one of the best teams in the country,” said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. “We competed well against them the last couple of years, although they were the better team.” On Tuesday night against Buffalo, senior co-captain Emily Wyffels helped the Red jump out to the early lead in the sixth minute, as she scored her first collegiate goal off of a Buffalo turnover. The Bulls netted the equalizer off a free kick in the 31st minute, and then went ahead for good in the 53rd minute. The Red welcomed junior co-captain Shannon Fraser back to the starting lineup. She hasn’t started the last three games due to a hamstring injury. “She’s only 70 percent, but her effect is so immeasurable because all of sudden, our midfield is more effective because they have a target,” Andeberhan said. “She and Emily read each other well and they’re complimentary. The two of them were driving the four fullbacks of Buffalo crazy. Their ability to hold the ball together also gave our midfield the ability to attack.” The Red has played some close contests against the Tigers in recent years. Last season at Princeton, junior Kara Ishikawa scored the team’s only goal in the 18th minute, but the Tigers took the lead for good before the half was over and shut down the Cornell offense. “Kara Ishikawa scored a great goal which showed her technical and tactical advancement and superiority, it was a magical goal,” Andeberhan said. “[Princeton] scored two goals which showed their physical superiority. They just crossed the ball in the box and outjumped us.” Princeton boasts one of the most dangerous players in the conference in 2003 Ivy League Player of the Year Esmeralda Negron. Negron’s 11 goals and eight assists are tops in the conference, and she had played particularly well against the Red, recording three goals and an assist in three career games against Cornell. Emily Behncke is another scoring threat for the Tigers, as she is the league’s third leading scorer with eight goals and four assists. In goal, Madeleine Jackson and Emily Vogelzang have been splitting time all season, and both keepers have a goals against average under 0.60. The Red will utilize team defense, with the defenders playing man-to-man on the ball side and zone on the other side. While Negron is sure to be a scoring threat, Andeberhan will not have senior back Natalie Dew mark her during the game. “We will still play our regular system and have Natalie play as the defensive midfielder. She will on occasion be helping out and will occasionally defend as a one-to-one back,” Andeberhan said. “She has such dynamic range and good reading ability that we try leave her free to go help out.” Archived article by Jonathan AuerbachSun Staff Writer

ByOctober 29, 2004

Sparked by two straight wins and the dream of winning a share of the Collegiate Sprint Football League title with a win tonight at Army and a Navy loss either this week or next week in their match-up with Army, has given new hope to a once thought of dismal season. The Red needs to take care of its own business tonight as it tries to avenge its week two home loss to the Black Knights. “We’ve had a very positive mood in the clubhouse this week,” said head coach Terry Cullen. “We’re reasonably healthy, and ready for our last game of the year.” The key to the game for the Red, according to Cullen, will be ball control. Army has a devastating running game, which sets the tone for the rest of the offense. Cullen noted that the offense has to control the clock and the defense is going to have to stop the run, which is something it has not been able to do well recently. The Red allowed over 200 yards rushing in the past two games, both wins, and was outrushed, 333-48, in the loss to Army early in the season. The time of possession in the Army contest was lopsided, as well. Army had the ball for almost 39 minutes, while the Red offense controlled the clock for 21 minutes. “When you face a wishbone-ball hog offense, you have to control the ball,” Cullen said. “If they have the ball, they’ll usually find a way to beat you. We’ve been working on schemes all week to confuse them, and we’ve learned a lot from last time we faced them.” Stepping up both on the field for the Red have been junior quarterback Alec Macaulay and junior wide receiver Jon Amoona. Macaulay has been consistently healthy for the first time all year after suffering from a case of mononucleosis earlier in the season, and he has led the offense to two 30-point outbursts in his last three contests. Amoona has caught a touchdown pass in each of the last two games. “I think Macaulay and Amoona have really stepped up offensively for us,” Cullen said. “They’ve also been great leaders to show this team how to win. Amoona is very fast but he hasn’t played football since he was a senior in high school, so he’s finally caught up.” In terms of possible scenarios for winning the league championship, the Red has to win tonight against Army. Currently, the Red is tied with Penn and Army in the league standings, and if yet-undefeated Navy loses one of its next two games the Red will be set to share a piece of the league championship. If Navy was to lose both games, the Red would take a share of the title with Penn. “If the season ended today, I would still be extremely proud of what our guys have accomplished,” Cullen said. “This is a great group of hard nose, tough kids who have fought hard all year.” Archived article by Josh FoxSun Staff Writer